


Balance

by The_Plaid_Slytherin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Force Ghost Qui-Gon Jinn, Gen, POV Darth Vader, Post-Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-21 12:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9549035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/pseuds/The_Plaid_Slytherin
Summary: Vader receives an unwanted visitor in his quarters after the fight with Luke on Bespin.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AceQueenKing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceQueenKing/gifts).



> Happy Valentine's Day! Your prompt for Qui-Gon and Anakin in ESB was one I couldn't resist. Hope you like it!

Vader kept his mind blank until he had returned to his quarters. Luke—his son—was gone now, out of range, but he could still feel his impression in the Force. He tried to hold onto it, the same formless impression he remembered from Padmé's pregnancy. 

The only sound was his mechanical breathing. He listened to it, felt Luke's absence, Padme's absence. It stoked his rage, and he reached once more for the comfort of the Dark Side, enveloping himself in it as the wave of his anger crested. The rattling of the instruments on his desk gave him another focus; the glass would break and—

"Anakin."

He tried to dismiss the voice; it was not the first time he'd heard it. Usually diving into the Dark Side made it go away, but he could not find his place in it anymore. He was too shaken. 

He turned.

The formless apparition of Qui-Gon Jinn hovered in front of the viewport. 

"A trick," he decided. His master trying to tempt him towards the Light, perhaps? 

"It's not a trick, Anakin. I think you know that. I have been watching you for a long time now."

"So the Light Side offers the promise of eternal life, Master Jinn?"

Qui-Gon's face softened. "Not exactly, Anakin. I am at peace with the Force. That allows me to return to offer the guidance I could not have in life."

It burned each time he called him that, the dead man's name. "No one has called me that in a long time."

"I know."

"Now that you are here, Master Jinn, would you like to admit you were wrong?"

"Wrong? How was I wrong?"

"You should not have taken me for training. I was too old. I had formed attachments. You should have listened to your masters."

"No," Qui-Gon said sadly. "That was not the problem. Nor was the fact that I didn't live to train you myself, as much as I wish I could have."

"Do you think you could have stopped me?"

"I don't know. Perhaps not."

"So you admit defeat?" Vader could feel the Dark Side creeping back over him, a welcome companion. 

"No. I admit I am powerless against the will of the Force. I believed you were the Chosen One, Anakin. I still believe that."

"Then you are a fool."

"Perhaps. But you still have the potential, Anakin. I can feel it. You may yet bring balance to the Force."

"Unlikely."

"I suppose I have been known to be wrong." Qui-Gon smiled. "You would be in good company. Obi-Wan doubts me too."

The mention of Obi-Wan stoked his rage as well. Obi-Wan, who had lied to his son… 

"The Dark Side has given me more than the Light Side ever could," he said simply. He had the upper hand here; it was within his power to end the conversation. Vader turned away, not knowing if Qui-Gon remained. He was almost afraid to look. 

His son must join him in the Dark Side. That was the only option that remained to him. 

There was nothing else.


End file.
